Spring break is a much better time to write this than when I originally imagined. Speaking of imagine, you can imagine the various music as however you like, whatever you like. Considering I have somewhat (okay, VERY) picky tastes when it comes to music, I'll let you insert whatever it is you like. Personally, I envision it as somewhere between fast industrial to more mainstream alternative rock.

Disclaimer: I don't own Samurai Deeper Kyo, or NIN or its songs.

Picture this if they could make the change
I'd love to pull the wires from the wall -Did you?
And who are you and how can I try?
Here inside I like metal -Don't you?
All I know is no one dies
I'm still confusing love with need

-Nine Inch Nails, Metal (some of my inspiration for writing this)

Deeper Synthetic

--Chapter One --

Kyoshiro stopped to gaze at the posters outside the Theater. Some were old and tattered, relics of past successes and big name bands. The venue itself was not big or incredibly popular, but sometimes, they had something good come along. Of late, it appeared, there were several concerts with unsigned local-type bands. Not bad. He turned away. How could people afford to see concerts like that, anyway?

His watched beeped, and he looked down at it. "Crap!" Class started in half an hour and he still had a bit of a walk. Holding tight to his bag, he high-tailed it off to class. On the double. From his headphones, music trickled. He didn't even notice the little blonde girl watching him, and following him.

Luckily, he found himself on campus, in class, settled a full ten minutes before class began. It was only as he looked around that he noticed a stranger looking at him. "Uh, can I help you?" he asked, not entirely sure that she could understand him.

"Is this yours? I found it on the ground outside Onmyou Theater," she asked, holding up a rather worn notebook.

Recognizing it immediately, he replied, "Yeah, that's it. Thanks for finding it. Did you follow me all the way here?"

She handed back to him politely, and said, "Well, yeah. I couldn't get your attention because you were off in your own little world –thanks for that, by the way- and you walked way too fast."

He gaped at her for a second. She was pretty enough, blonde hair and lively green eyes, a nice body if a little plain. She was also young, but wore street clothes. "Oh. I'm sorry for the trouble. Thank you very much…er…What is your name?"

"Shiina Yuya. What about you?"

"I'm Mibu Kyoshiro. How old are you, Yuya-san?"

Her gaze flickered once, and she said, "I'm sixteen."

"Then shouldn't you be at school yourself?" It was a reasonable question: a high school aged girl prancing around town midmorning on a weekday in street clothes was rather unusual.

Yuya pursed her lips, frowning a little. "Yes, well, I'd better be going in any case. Please take care not to lose your diary again." With that, Kyoshiro was left flailing in his mind, wondering how much of the notebook she'd read, and she turned on her heel and strode out of the classroom, holding the door open for the professor to enter.

It wasn't a hassle, really, to have helped that Kyoshiro. Her morning would have otherwise been a long wait for work. At least this way, she got some small change in her routine. 'Oh, Nii-sama,' she thought as she walked back, 'What would you think of me now? I'm not even going to school.' Crossing her fingers, hoping her dear, late brother wasn't too angry with her, she turned the corner.

There it was: her place of employment. If that's what you could call it, anyway. Odd-jobs. Temping. It wasn't easy for her to find work once her brother had died, but this place kept her busy enough that she could stay entertained, and paid enough that she could save up. Four years already since her brother had died. Since that day, she'd finished middle school and began working. No way would she let herself be passed around from stranger's house to stranger's house any more than she had to. Once she'd saved enough money, she moved into her own, tiny studio apartment.

And now she worked. It was simple. "Hello," she greeted her boss. "What work will I be doing today?"

He smiled at her. "Ah, Shiina-san. Today, you'll be helping hand out fliers for a theater. I know it's simple work, but they asked. The uniform they've asked you wear is in the back room."

"Yes, sir." She ducked behind the curtains, and looked at the little pile of clothes. The skirt was a little on the short side, but the top was unbearable, a tank top that would not have covered much of her "assets." Quickly, she changed into the skirt, and after careful consideration, wore the top underneath a simple long-sleeved undershirt. Acceptable.

Her boss handed her a sheet of instructions and a stack of fliers. Then, she jetted off to the street location the theater requested she take. It was about a block away from the theater –Onmyou Theater, she noticed- and on the opposite side of the street. To every passer-by that would listen, that would take a slip of paper, she smiled and bowed. A lot.

Around four in the afternoon, all the school kids showed up, and she gave most of the fliers away. She tried to present herself as mature, hoping no one would wonder if they knew her. Someone did. "Yuya-san?"

Promptly, Yuya spun around to find herself face to face with Kyoshiro. "Oh, hello, Kyoshiro. Care for a flier?" She tried to shove a flier into his hand, and he took it gently, but kept talking.

"What are you doing?"

"Working," she said as she tried to get rid of more fliers.

"Oh. Didn't you go to school?"

"I don't."

"Really? Why not?"

"Because I can't afford. Because I need to work to have money to live."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Hey, if you'd like, after you get done with work, we can go get tea. My treat."

After eyeballing him suspiciously and deciding he had good intentions, Yuya agreed. "This is my last stack of fliers," she gestured waving the stack about, "so once I'm done with these, I'm done for the day."

Kyoshiro nodded, and wandered off. Smiling falsely, she went back to business. Enough people took the fliers that finally she ran out. Kyoshiro wandered back at just the right moment. "I have to go back to work to clock out and change my clothes. I'll be right back."

He watched her run off, and tuned back into his music. In a small paper bag, he had a book –a study guide that he'd purchased while Yuya-san finished work. How many years more of schooling did he have to go through? But, whenever it got him down, he thought of all the people he'd be able to help once he got done with it all. First, though, he'd have to work hard just to get into med-school. Then, Yuya popped up again. "Hi! Thanks for waiting! So, where we going?"

He blinked. "I was thinking just a little café, is that alright?"

"Fine by me," she grinned.

The two of them walked at a comfortable distance, chatting. Finally, they made it to the little café –it was little more than a hole in the wall. The waitress seated them, and took their orders. From over in the corner, Kyoshiro noted the long haired man drinking. 'Oh, great,' he thought, but their orders arrived before he could suggest they find another place. Uneasily, he let it go, and hoped the man wouldn't notice them. He managed to have a lovely conversation with Yuya before she somewhat vocally declared him a pervert, smacked him loudly enough to catch the attention of the man, who looked up, recognized Kyoshiro, and stomped over.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" he growled. Kyoshiro smelled the liquor on his breath.

Yuya glowered at him. "We're having a snack, mind your own business."

The man turned his gaze to her, a malicious glare that kept her from telling him off further. His eyes were startlingly red, the irises were blood red. "Was I talking to you, little girl? No." His attentions turned back to Kyoshiro. "So, what are you doing here besides flirting with jail bait? Can't do any better, or what?"

Miffed, Yuya spoke up. Kyoshiro hissed, "Yuya-san, please don't," but she had already spoken. "Excuse me? Who's 'jail bait,' and who's flirting?! I really think you should mind your own business and crawl back into whatever bottle you dragged yourself out of. You smell like booze."

"Woman, shut your mouth before I do it for you." Was growling all he knew how to do?

Kyoshiro sank low as the pair began to argue more. "Yuya-san, just let it go. He's scum."

"I can see he's scum. But guess what –I'm not scared of scum!" he was scarier than scum, but hell if she would let him know that. "So go on, just try to shut me up."

In one swift motion, he reached across the table, grabbing at her. She leapt up, knocking over her empty cup. Kyoshiro picked it up before it could fall. The man put one hand on Yuya's mouth, the other grabbing her shoulder. "Kyo! That's enough! Let her go!" Kyoshiro demanded, and the man –Kyo- responded by pulling her closer. She stomped on his foot, he let go enough that she wiggled away.

By now, everyone in the café was staring at them, and the manager had stepped up to politely (but angrily nonetheless) kick them all out. On the street, Kyo and Yuya continued to argue. "You put your hands on me again, you're gonna be sorry!" she threatened.

"Oh? What's a brat like you going to do, huh? Dogface," he snarled, relishing in her outraged face.

This time before she could reply scathingly, Kyoshiro forcibly dragged her away. "Not now, Yuya-san."

"Kyoshiro! Dammit!" Kyo called to their retreating backs.

Yuya dusted herself off, and asked, "So who was that jerk?"

With a sigh, Kyoshiro said, "He's…was…my, er, acquaintance. You have to be careful around a guy like him. He isn't the safest character."

"I guess so. What's the story?"

"It's a long one. Basically, we went to school together, don't get along much since…well, never mind that. Just watch out for him. Sorry you got involved."

"Don't worry about it. I've had my share of jerks, you know."

Kyoshiro's soft eyes perceived the girl before him. Obviously, she had a volatile side, but the flip-side, the calmer side, surfaced every once in a while. Enough to show him that underneath her spitfire persona, there was a very sad girl in there. In a flash of memory, he saw her in front of him, smiling sweetly. "Do tell," he prodded.

She looked down, and back up. "My brother –my only caretaker- died when I was 12. I've been passed around like some kind of stray cat. Some people just aren't very nice."

"Oh…I'm sorry. What happened?"

She avoided his gaze, and in stoic tone said, "He was hit by a car by some irresponsible idiot."

Ignoring the tingle that went down his spine, softly Kyoshiro replied, "I'm extremely sorry to hear that."

"…Thanks."

The pair walked for a few moments in awkward silence. Lights flickered on outside an arcade. The ringing of someone winning at one game or another caught Yuya's attention. She pulled out her cell phone and flipped it open. The time flickered in blue light. "Eh?! Is it really 6:00?" Kyoshiro yelped.

"Huh? Oh, yeah…It's not that late, though. Why?"

"I have to study! And finish some homework!" he fumbled around in his bag.

Yuya laughed. "Is the life of a college student that difficult? You seemed stressed when I saw you this morning. Or maybe you're just absent-minded?"

Already in a small panic and furiously sending a quick text on his cell phone, Kyoshiro replied, "Yuya-san, I really have enjoyed meeting you today. Thank you for returning my notebook, but I have to be going now. Perhaps I'll run into you again!"

He closed his phone, but before he could put it away, she took it, saying, "May I?" and saved her phone number for him. With a gentle smile, she handed it back. "Now it's assured. Take care of yourself. You might get sick if you work too hard."

"Yuya-san…Thank you. I'll see you around!"

As she watched him run off, Yuya smiled. He seemed so gentle, maybe even a little dopey. She turned and walked off towards her apartment, her phone still in her hand. It vibrated, and she looked down to see the "incoming text" icon. "Now you have my number, too!" it said.

"Kyoshiro?" she wrote back, to be affirmed. Laughing a little to herself, she saved his number.

By now, it was wanting to get dark, but the light was only just beginning to sink away. Yuya looked around. She was not afraid of the dark, nor of people, and it wasn't a dangerous part of town, but nonetheless, she quickened her pace. No need to expose herself to unnecessary risks. Her swagger was confident and aggressive, and she made it back to her apartment unmolested as always.

Tiredly, Yuya pushed the button and politely waited for the elevator to take her up to the third floor. It finally did, and she let herself into her tiny apartment. The kitchen was small and clean, and the bathroom was cramped. Her futon was set neatly away in one corner, her tiny table and television forcibly nearby. She took off her shoes, and set the stove to make some hot tea.

As she relaxed, Yuya heard the usual rhythmic thumping and general noise from the upstairs apartment. Exasperated, she sighed and turned on the television, pushing the volume further and further, until the upstairs neighbor's noise was drowned out. It just wasn't fair: here she was, working hard, trying to eke out a living, forsaking high school, and doing it all in an exceptionally small apartment without so much as a potted plant to keep her company. And there they were, up there, in the larger, fancier, more expensive apartments, playing their loud music and probably having some sort of "fun."

Funny enough, for someone who lived so close, Yuya very rarely saw any of her neighbors. Thinking on it, she made friends easily, but circumstance rendered them short-lived, and time took its toll until there was no communication left, leaving Yuya quite friendless. Eventually, she assumed, everyone was destined to leave, starting with her parents, moving onto her brother, and her friends, her foster families, and whoever else would come along the road.

Nothing good was on TV. She yawned, stretched, and took a quick shower before soaking in the warm bath. The music from upstairs was somewhat quieter, now, muffled by the distance. Here, it was maybe a little soothing, even. Eventually, she got out, dried off, dressed in her comfortable pajamas, and went to lay the futon out. All set for bed, she set her alarm clock carefully. At least tomorrow she could sleep in until 8 o'clock. The music was still going, but winding down as it usually did around this time of night. At least they figured out that if they got too carried away, they could be evicted, or at least fined.

Drifting off to sleep, Yuya smiled, and considered making as much noise as possible early in the morning. She had been fantasizing on it for a while, anyway. She fell asleep with the image in her mind of her, standing on the table, whacking the ceiling with a broom. Satisfied, her dreams were peaceful that night.

"Pi…pi…pi…pi-pi-pi-pi-pi!!" Yuya's alarm clock said, right on time. She rolled over, smacked it, and sat up.

Blinking bleary eyes, she yawned, stretched, and rose. First things first, she rolled up her futon and put it away neatly as ever. She went to the toilet, then to the bathroom, washed her hands and face. She stared at her reflection for a second, eyeing her long blonde hair and eyes, trying to decide if they were sharp or gentle. Then, she turned, took off her pajamas, and dressed for the day. When she parted the curtains, brilliant warm sunshine illuminated the room. In the sky, a few clouds billowed peacefully, and the sky was endlessly blue. "Today is going to be a good day," she said to herself.

For breakfast, she had ocha, miso soup, and some leftover chahan. Looking over her fridge, she decided to buy groceries after work. Her dishes in the sink, she brushed her teeth, packed up her work bag, and was out the door before 9 o'clock. She walked cheerfully, enjoying the sunshine, the warm air, the people on the street going on with their lives. Then, she noticed her shoe untied. She stepped to the side, crouched, and began to tie it.

A shadow loomed over her suddenly. A deep voice mocked, "Having trouble?"

"No, I'm fine. My shoe was untied is all."

Yuya stood, and gaped at the man before her. It was the man from the night before! Kyo smirked, amused by the ripple of surprise that passed over the small girl's face. "Can't say it surprised me to see you on your knees, though." He chuckled.

"What are you doing here?" Yuya demanded, backing up, keeping her hands on her hips.

"Going home, Dogface. You're in my way."

"What! Who's a Dogface?! And the street is quite big enough for the both of us, jerk."

Kyo's smirk widened. He relaxed his stance, and spread his arms. "Go ahead and pass then."

Apprehensively, Yuya took tentative steps forward. Just as she was about to pass him, he stepped to the side and blocked her path. She growled, tried stepping around on the other side, and he stood in front of her again. She tried to go around one more time, and he still blocked her path. "Argh! What the hell are you doing?! Stop getting in the way!" Yuya yelled, smacking an open palm at Kyo, which he easily dodged.

"Watch it, woman," he growled, his amusement temporarily gone. "I don't tolerate crap, especially from an idiot Dogface."

"Then WHAT is your problem?"

The smirk was back as he pointed behind her. "You forgot something."

She turned, and saw a small wallet on the ground. "Ah! My wallet! How did that get there?" She ran over, picked it up, and put it back in her bag.

When she looked back, Kyo was already heading past her, face blank. He brushed past, and Yuya turned. "Wait!" she called.

He looked back expectantly, but when she didn't say anything, he said, "What?"

"oh…" Yuya's face grew a little hot as she realized she had called to him without knowing what she wanted to say. "Uhm, thank you. My name is Yuya…What's yours?" She'd heard his name last night, but still she asked.

His red eyes searched with a suspicious look before he replied, "Kyo," and turned away.

She watched him for a moment, then turned back on her way. "Well, that was mildly confusing," she muttered.

"Shiina-san, hello!" her boss greeted as she walked in.

"Hello," she replied cheerfully, her good mood restored.

Her assignment for the day was nothing interesting, and she groaned a little. They sent her to an office where she was to work as a temporary secretary for the rest of the week. The pay was better, but as she looked out the window at the sky, her heart cringed a little. She longed for more freedom.

Kyo, too, looked at the sky. Then, back down at his comrade, a lanky man with messy hair and distant eyes, who stared absently out the window. He shrugged, and turned to his weapon of choice, gleaming in his hands. "Hotaru! Get your head out of the clouds and back into this, please!"

The speaker was the youngest in the room, dressed fashionably, and eyes closed -blind. Hotaru turned, and looked at him mildly. "What's your problem?"

"I just want to get on with this," he said.

Hotaru shrugged, and turned back to the group. There was Kyo, the blind man named Akira, a huge man with one eye called Bontenmaru, and the 'worst' –Akari, tall and beautiful, fashionable, feminine, and…a man. "Then, let's."

Kyo grinned. "About time."

All of the men held their prizes. For Kyo, it was a silvery guitar. For Hotaru, it was his bass guitar. Akira, too, had a guitar. The drums belonged to Bontenmaru. Akari could play instruments, but took the place of singing.

"Ready, boys?" Akari asked, smiling cheerfully.

Bontenmaru began with a steady beat, Hotaru established rhythm. Akira started the melody, and Kyo accompanied him. Akari opened her mouth, and the words boomed out. While they played and Akari sang, the harmonious air about them was intangible but apparent. Then, the rhythm changed. Hotaru took his hands off his bass. Akira missed a chord, Bontenmaru put his hands down, Akari stopped singing, and finally, Kyo stopped playing.

"Hotaru! What's your problem? Every single time, you mess it up!" Akira snapped.

"But you're the one who missed a chord…" Hotaru said, irritation evident in his voice.

"Don't pin this on me; you messed up first."

"Shut up, Akira. Stop being such a prick."

"I am not a prick! You want to fight?"

"You've been pissing me off all day."

They set down their instruments, then closed in on each other. Bontenmaru leaned back, laughing. "Here they go again. Ah, kids."

Akari joined in laughing. "It's so true. Especially Akira. Did you hear? His ass is still bl-"

Akira turned from his argument with Hotaru. Grabbing a water bottle, he chucked it, Akari dodged, and it hit the wall behind her, burst, and sprayed her. "Hey! You ruined my hair, you brat!"

Hotaru backed up, but was unfortunately caught in the crossfire as Akari pounded on Akira. Their own spat forgotten, the two slinked back to their instruments with bruises and scratches. Bontenmaru shook his head. "Hey, Kyo. Gimme one of those," he demanded, gesturing to the pack of cigarettes on the table.

"Get your own," he replied, taking a long drag and exhaling in Bontenmaru's face.

"HEY! Asshole!" Bontenmaru stood up.

Kyo took another long drag, enjoying Bon's outrage. Akari, Akira, and Hotaru fought their own fight. The day wore on as such. And the Shiseiten (plus Kyo) got far less band practice done than any group of more disciplined, focused individuals would have.

At 5 o'clock, Yuya said goodbye to everyone in the office, and headed back to the temping agency with which she was employed. She clocked out, took her bag, and made her way to the grocery store. The air was filled with smells, some of them bad and fishy, others sweet and fresh. She took a cart, looked once in her wallet at her dwindling cash supply, and then proceeded with shopping.

Cabbage, soy sauce, carrots, noodles, chicken, tea, miso paste, tofu, senbei, rice, and apples. They filled her cart scarcely halfway, but her wallet told her to watch it closely, so she checked out and had cash enough for next time. She thanked the clerk, and walked out of the store with arms full of groceries.

She turned her back on the store, and headed home. A newly familiar voice said, "Need some help with those?"

It was Kyoshiro. He held his arms out, and Yuya dumped all her bags into them. "Thanks, Kyoshiro."

Surprised at their weight, Kyoshiro said, "So where we off to?"

"My house, of course."

"I'll follow you, then. How are you?"

"I'm good. Just got out of work a little while ago, thank God. How are you?"

"I'm okay. I was going for a walk, and there you were!"

Yuya eyed him suspiciously. "Right…why do I keep running into you?"

Kyoshiro's gentle smile faded. "Coincidence. We live in the same prefecture, right?"

"Yes, I suppose it's true. Seems odd, though, that I've never seen you before."

He hesitated. "I'm sure you've seen me around, you just never noticed me before. I think I've seen you before."

"Really? I guess I do stick out a little."

"Not that much," Kyoshiro began, and Yuya looked at him questioningly, but he didn't say any more about that. "Anyway, where is your house?"

"It's that apartment building there," she pointed to the medium height white building they were approaching.

"Convenient! You're really close to a convenience store! Why don't you shop there?"

Yuya cocked an eyebrow. "I do. But not for groceries, because they do not sell groceries."

Sheepishly, Kyoshiro admitted, "Yeah, I guess so."

They entered the lobby and headed for the elevator. While Yuya checked her mail, Kyoshiro, suddenly familiar with the surroundings, ducked behind Yuya's groceries when people passed. Through the bags, he could see one person turn to give him a curious stare. He spun around and found Yuya standing right there. "Yuya-san!"

The elevator arrived, and they went to Yuya's room. She entered first, kicked off her shoes, and took the groceries. "Please, come in."

"Thank you. Please excuse the intrusion."

She laughed. "You DID help me. Thank you again. Would you like some dinner?"

Kyoshiro scanned the tiny room. "If you don't mind cooking, then I would."

"It's no problem." Yuya put an apron on and began to cook.

The TV was in the corner. "Do you mind if I turn it on, Yuya-san?"

"Go for it," her reply came.

He did. As he flipped channels, he came across something interesting. Whatever it was, there were girls. Cute, buxom, scantily-clad girls, all running after each other. Kyoshiro's thumb hovered over the remote, then he set it down. Yuya was talking about something or other –the weather? Losing her wallet? Kyoshiro tuned in.

"-so I look up and it's your friend, the one from last night. The jerk. He starts picking on me, and then he won't get out of my way when I try to leave. And he points out that I've left my wallet behind. He turns to go and I-" Yuya came out of the kitchen with a tray of senbei and ocha on it, but halted in mid-sentence. "What the heck are you watching?!"

Kyoshiro started, blushed, and fumbled with the remote, hitting the "channel up" button. The station switched to some band. "N-nothing, Yuya-san. I'm sorry! I was flipping channels and then got distracted by your talking…please don't hit me!" He cowed under her ferocious angry fist.

She huffed, and turned away. "Anyway. That Kyo friend of yours –it was weird running into you both these day. I haven't seen him around, either, until I met you."

'She met Kyo? Oh—the jerk today,' Kyoshiro's mind scrambled. He said, "Well, Kyo's definitely been around. Definitely." 'I don't know why you haven't noticed him before,' he thought darkly.

"So, you went to school together? I got a good look at him today. He seems like he'd be too old to have gone to school with you…"

"Oh, err, uh, really? I'm older than I look."

"Can't be that much older! He looks like he's at least six years older than you." Yuya's green eyes bore into his. He looked away.

"I don't know," he chuckled, and rubbed the back of his head. "So, do you miss school, Yuya-san?"

She set the table for dinner. "Oh, I don't know. It would be nice to be with kids my own age, doing normal 16-year-old girl things, not having to worry all the time, but…" she trailed away, staring at the food she placed on the table, her green eyes suddenly glassy and sad. She perked up forcibly all a sudden. "Anyway! Dig in!"

As he helped himself, Kyoshiro said, "This looks delicious!"

"I don't know about that," Yuya blushed a little and put some food on her plate.

"Itadakimasu," they said simultaneously, and began to eat.

"Hey, this is good!" Kyoshiro smiled, gesturing with his chopsticks.

"Oh…don't mention it," Yuya's blush deepened, and Kyoshiro felt a slight blush creep across his own face.

They ate and conversed comfortably until…THUMP! The ceiling shook slightly. Kyoshiro jumped to his feet. "What was that?!"

"Just the upstairs neighbors. It's really annoying; they make noise all the time, but just when I'm about to go up and have a talk with them, they knock it off."

"Doesn't the landlord say anything?"

"I'm not sure. They're paying more. Upstairs are the larger units, so maybe he values them more."

Kyoshiro rolled his eyes upward, craned his neck. He could hear music playing, and groaned. "That's rude."

"Don't worry about it. I've learned to ignore it for the most part, anyway." Yuya ate complacently, and Kyoshiro followed suit.

After dinner, Yuya did the dishes, and Kyoshiro dried them. Then, they sat and talked for a little while longer. As Yuya started looking rather drowsy, Kyoshiro picked up his things and said, "Well, it was a nice evening. Thank you for having me over, Yuya-san. Take care!"

"Thank you for coming over, Kyoshiro," Yuya smiled. "See you around!"

Just as Kyoshiro sat putting his shoes back on, upstairs made a loud crash, and the music started again in earnest. Yuya smiled calmly, then put her hands up in gesture of confusion. "Goodbye," they said, and Kyoshiro slipped out the door. He checked his phone. One text message. He headed for the stairs and started to text back.

After Kyoshiro had gone, Yuya cleaned up a little more, and went on with her usual nightly routine. Upstairs, the music still pounded. It wasn't that it was bad music, just too loud to be polite. It apparently bothered Kyoshiro a lot. Yuya, in the bath, sank lower and sighed into the warm water. She closed her eyes, and then, the music stopped. There was some random crashing, but her apartment was considerably quieter.

Quieter, that is, until she was trying to go to sleep. "Just shut up," Yuya groaned, turning over on her futon and putting the pillow over her ears. 'If they don't knock it off…' she grumbled to herself idly. But she never even had to make the threat to herself, because the noise quit.

As Yuya attempted sleep, Kyoshiro arrived home, sat down, and started to study. He gritted his teeth in irritation, and pressed his pen to the paper, scribbling furious notes. Finally, he calmed himself enough to actually study in earnest, and the night went more peacefully from there.

Kyo, at his own place, stood up in the middle of practice. The irritation was obvious from his brooding scowl, though he usually looked like that. "I'm done," he growled, and stomped off to his bedroom. The rest of the Shiseiten gaped after him.

"What's his problem?" Bontenmaru huffed. Akari tried to follow, but the door slammed in her face. "Aww! But Kyo, I can make you feel better, all night long!"

Disappointed, she, too, left. Bontenmaru sighed. "It was a good one today, too. Oh well. Night all." He followed.

After a moment's silence, Akira turned to Hotaru. "So, are you crashing here for tonight?"

"Huh? Oh. I guess so."

Akira pointed at a closet. "There's an extra futon in there. I'm going to bed, too."

The door opposite Kyo's shut lightly, and Hotaru sat alone in the silence. Outside, the moon was bright, but the stars were outshone by the city. Traffic was quiet. He opened the window and looked out at the city. A cool breeze ruffled his hair, and he noticed the fresh scent on it. "Looks like rain…crap. I hate water."

He shut the window, laid out the futon, and lie on it, thinking passing thoughts lazily until his eyes shut and he drifted smoothly into sleep.

--Chapter One end--

(in Japanese houses, the toilets have their own little separate room)

Anyway! Ahem, ahem. That was…err...crappy, yeah, but, uhm…well, I can't defend it. All I can say is, the last time I wrote fanfiction was over 3 years ago. I'm rusty. -bows- Sorry for them being Out Of Character!! Sorry for the weak and unoriginal plot! Sorry it doesn't follow Samurai Deeper Kyo better!! And sorry for the LAME names of places and bands (I suck at that). And sorry for the crappy title and summary…and layout

I still appreciate reviews, especially constructive criticism. But no flames –didn't your mother ever teach you, "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all," ne? Anyway. THANK YOU for reading